Ernie Lopez

Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez (* 1945 in Fort Duchesne , Utah , † 3. October 2009 in Pleasant Grove , Utah) was an American boxer in the welterweight division .

biography

Lopez came to a family from the trunk of the Ute and was a graduate of Orem High School . In the mid- 1960s , he moved with his wife to California and became known as a welterweight boxer for his aggressive boxing style.

In 1970 he fought against José Nápoles for the WBA and WBA world welterweight titles, but lost to this in the 15th round. In 1973 he was again the challenger of Nápoles and this time lost in the 7th round. Longtime Los Angeles boxing journalist Bill Kaplan described the bouts between Lopez and Nápoles as follows:

"He (Lopez) never became a champion, but he was very popular with his fans. He was aggressive. He wasn't worried about getting hit. He was a very good fighter, but Nápoles was a great fighter."

Lopez also had three fights against the 1965 US welterweight champion, Hedgemon Lewis, of which he won two. The actor Ryan O'Neal , the manager of Lewis was said about Lopez:

"Lopez was a fighter. He was also a gentleman, a decent man. But as a boxer he hit his opponent so hard that he was exhausted himself. That is why Lopez was always able to fill the arenas because he offered the fans something for their money ... It was his heart that made him the winner. "

When he divorced his wife in 1974, he ended his boxing career. In the years that followed, he lost contact with his family, and he ended up living in a homeless shelter in Fort Worth , Texas for several years .

In 2004 family members read an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times for Ernie Lopez to be inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles . After he was found in the homeless shelter, Hall of Fame President and former boxing promoter Don Fraser paid his ticket. At the ceremony, he also met his family again. His brother Danny Lopez , who himself was WBC featherweight champion from 1976 to 1980 , said of Ernie Lopez:

"It was the defeats to Nápoles and the divorce that spiraled Ernie. He was an injured man."

After receiving the award, Lopez lived with his sister until 2009 before moving to a retirement home in Pleasant Grove, where he died of dementia .

Web links

• Los Angeles Times: Ernie Lopez, 64; boxer filled arenas with aggressive style